| T.R | Title | User | Personal
Name | Date | Lines |
|---|
| 41.1 | .... I doubt it.... | CASDEV::SALOIS | Without a thought of consequence | Tue Apr 03 1990 12:36 | 31 |
|
" My wife has custody of my son."
"Can I claim my son as a dependent/exemption for tax purposes?"
If you were divorced after 1986, you can only claim the exemption
if you provide at least half the cost to support the child, AND the
child resides at least half the year in your residence, AND the
custodial parent waives the right to claim the child as a tax
exemption.
Prior to '86, it is dependent upon the divorce decree itself.
So, you may want to ask yourself, "What are the chances my ex will
give up a lucrative tax break?" Remember, your ex pays no taxes on
the support you provide, AND you get no exemption, even though you
provide documented financial support!
Kinda gets ya, huh?
"Can my wife's living arrangement be taken into consideration to
lower my support payments, at least temorarily?"
Not sure. I think it depends not only on the state you were divorced
in, but could also depend upon the judge you get...
If they are taken into consideration, please remember, should you
decide to have a live-in other, your ex would then have the same
recourse to seek an increase, based upon your joint salaries.
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| 41.2 | Have I got it? | RT32::GOODWIN | | Wed Apr 04 1990 11:54 | 19 |
| Thanks very much for this answer.
How is 50% of total support established? How is "total support"
calculated?
In order to have my son at my house 50% of the time I would have
to have joint physical custody, and the likelihood of my getting that
is nil (I have tried and been laughed out of court, literally).
If I'm understanding this correctly, the bottom line is that unless
these two conditions are met I cannot claim my son even if my wife
and I agree that I may. Is this right? What in the world is the
rationale for this kind of law (rhetorical question)? Anyway...
Thanks again,
Tom
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| 41.3 | Ask Your Attorney! | JAIMES::STRIFE | | Wed Apr 04 1990 12:27 | 11 |
| Tom,
I assume that you're talking about the "pretrial hearing" prior
to the divorce? I also assume that you have an attorney? If so,
you're paying him/her to answer the kind of questions which you're
asking. (S)he has (hopefully) thorough knowledge of all the
circumstances in the case and should be able to give you much more
accurate answers than people hear can give you based on limited
facts.
|
| 41.4 | I hope you weren't expecting justice.... | RMSOPS::SALOIS | Without a thought of consequence | Wed Apr 04 1990 12:34 | 43 |
|
Dependent upon where you live. I guess you're in Colorado?
I don't know how it works out there. Back here, you cannot prove
a +50% support role, if you are not the custodial parent.
De facto +50% support role is determined by who receives custody.
Please do not confuse this with the percentage of support to be
paid.
" If I'm understanding this correctly, the bottom line is that unless
these two conditions are met I cannot claim my son even if my wife
and I agree that I may. Is this right? What in the world is the
rationale for this kind of law (rhetorical question)? Anyway..."
No. If your ex-wife decides to be (extremely) generous, and grants
you the tax exemption, you can take it. However, the IRS demands that
if you take this, you must also include a notarized letter from the
custodial spouse (determined by the divorce decree), stating that
she/he will not be taking the credit and will be granting that
exemption to you.
In the issue of joint custody, there is a primary custodian role.
Again, only one parent can claim the exemption.
As for your rhetorical question....
To me, it's a pretzel logic that makes no sense. The amount of support
you pay to your ex-spouse is non-taxable income for her/him. The tax
credit ends up with the person who is not paying support. <disclaimer>
That's a general statement, which in no way implies that other forms
of support by the custodial parent, are invalid.
In a general instance, the custodial parent can receive up to $8000
per year per child. All of this is TAX-EXEMPT!!
However, the person paying this amount gets no tax credit. And
again, the custodial parent then can receive the break, which I
believe is now at $2500.
You figure.....
pissah,eh?
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| 41.5 | Use the legal system with an attorney... | RMSOPS::SALOIS | Without a thought of consequence | Wed Apr 04 1990 12:53 | 14 |
|
Oh and Tom, I whole-heartedly support the recommendation in .3
While people here, like myself, can give you support, anecdotes,
and advice....
a competent lawyer can work wonders for you.
on an aside.... I have had good lawyers and I have had bad lawyers..
and I don't buy into stupid generalizations such as lawyer jokes...
Why? Because I'm going to be one someday! ;^)
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| 41.6 | | SIVA::MACDONALD | | Tue Apr 17 1990 11:51 | 17 |
|
Some of the informaton give here is not correct. Read the IRS
publications. They spell out clearly what you have to do to claim the
exemption if you are divorced and if you do not have custody.
Their regulations are clearly intended only to ensure that only one
person, not both, claim the deduction. You can either have your ex
fill out and sign the specific IRS form for this or you can attach a
copy of the divorce decree if it states that you get the deduction.
You do not have to prove that you pay more than 50% of the support and
that the child lives with you at least 50% of the time, those criteria
are for when you want to file as head of household which is different
from claiming the child as a dependent.
Steve
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